Prismatic specks sprouted from Zharia's feathers. The flames surrounding her turned more solid, the fire dripping onto the sand and scorching the grains black.

Zagreus's chest expanded and he leaned forward as the blood around his body bubbled and frothed. Dark red turned maroon followed by a strip of black and green dripping along the edges of his scales.

He hissed and stomped the sand flat, shaking the earth.

"No matter how many tricks you reveal, you will not win," Helmet-head said.

"Burn?!"

"Play?"

"Remember the dungeon? Work together, but feel free to go wild," I responded.

At my orders, my familiars exploded into action.

Zharia unleashed a fireball that spiraled downward at Helmet-head's skull. He raised his shield and intercepted, but the golden flames crashed against the lower-right section with a pop of prismatic energy. The stone turned white hot and shattered, leaving a watermelon-sized hole in the defense. Unfortunately, another rock erupted from the sand below and took its place, repairing the hole.

Zagreus charged, barreling forward, heads held high. Helmet-head cleaved into his chest, splitting the first two heads diagonally. The other two latched on, meeting a mouthful of black stone for their efforts. When the blade met sand, part of Zagreus' body collapsed into a puddle that slipped into his massive paw. His necks reformed, around the blade and attempted to bite into the noble's side.

"Buried Avalanche!" Helmet-head roared.

He stomped and the earth split. Jagged chunks of sand and debris launched Zagreus into the air, a wave smashed into my front and I dived to the side, scooping up Áine. I smacked aside a large chunk of debris with my tail and deflected another with my spear before we landed on a stable piece of ground.

The earth continued to shake but the noble stayed standing amongst a cloud of dust. His eyes gleamed bright orange and he banged his halberd against his shield. Mana radiated from his body like a heatwave that sank to his feet and pulsed.

"You stood a chance before I took the enhancer. You have no hope of defeating me now."

"Is that so?" I asked.

"It is."

"Let's test that."

Through the connection, my familiars made their request, asking to pull from my mana to feed theirs. Roar of the Spirit Lord had drained a hefty chunk, as did diminishing my pool to summon my familiars but I allowed the request to go through. After all, I had plenty to spare and I wasn't the threat here.

Another fireball crashed into Helmet-head's shield. He blocked the attack, but was forced to swat away another with his weapon. The halberd carved through the flames and revealed a third ball of fire directly behind it.

Zharia's talons grabbed hold of Helmet-head's rock-covered face. She forced her beak into his eyehole and opened wide.

"Aaagh!"

A torrent spilled forth, forcing a scream from the noble's throat before he knocked her aside. She evaded the blow and flew away, faster than he could react. Her claws sliced through the stone leaving jagged edges.

Her annoyance at not having cut deeper bled through the link.

Helmet-head stumbled forward and tore at the material around his face. His rock-covered hand ripped the stones away, tossing them aside. His helmet appeared and he grabbed it's ends before tearing it off. It sank into the ground, letting the liquid flames scorch the area around it black.

Pink skin steamed as his hands came away. Part of his lower chin had blistered with ugly red welts while his head sizzled with burnt brown hair turned charcoal and small.

His eyes became wild, glowing with bright orange flashes as he turned and tracked Zharia's movements above.

I whistled and he snapped toward my direction, releasing a wad of spit against the burnt side of his mouth. I winced. "I'll give it to you, you're pretty but that's nasty. Can't say I recognize you either, but you can't be hiding your face because of your looks. So why?"

For a second, blind rage filled his eyes. Then the pulses stopped and he visibly calmed and raised his shield before reforming the stones around his head.

"A tradition of our house. A respectable practice you would never understand," he pointed his halberd at Zharia, and the blade separated into three rocks that zipped into the air. One clipped the end of her wing and she retreated further away. My anger rose, but the noble stood tall and turned toward me. "You managed to surprise me. I am woefully inexperienced in fighting small annoying pests. Something to be fixed after we are through. But know, you will not surprise me again."

I tucked Áine into my hood and stood up. My tail ached, and my arm twitched as mana ran into a kink in the system. Áine began healing me, sending her mana deep into my chest, but I wasn't too concerned. The curse had taken its effect and the damned device atop the pillar continued to create a static in the air that clung to my skin but it failed to impede me.

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I shrugged and pointed over his shoulder. "I wouldn't bet on that."

To his credit, the noble placed his shield between Zagreus's claw at the last second. His taller frame pushed it aside and he whipped his weapon into my familiar's leg. It cut through but Zagreus flipped and threw his tail into the Helmet-head's stomach. The blow hammered him into the ground and another shockwave turned the earth to putty. Zagreus exploded into a puddle and disappeared under a cloud of sand.

"Like I said-"

His words were cut short as a loud crunch filled the space. Zagreus reformed from the inflated paw and grinned with all four of his heads.

"Play! Wrestle! Chew! Mine!"

Two heads grabbed the shield and wretched it free, the other two tried to grab the halberd but failed. The noble fended off the playful hydra, but his form bulged and his necks thickened. In a startled yep, Helmet-head was launched into the air with a trail of yellow-green liquid dripping down.

Zharia screeched and zipped by, her wing clipping his chest. In a fwoosh the liquid ignited and the noble crashed into the earth in a heap of burning stone.

"Erupting Sk-"

Zagreus battered the air out of his chest. He pulled his paw free, revealing shiny leather underneath.

"Earth Hamm-"

Zharia released a stream of golden flames and silenced the noble. When stones from his shield started to split and rush to defend him, Zagreus jumped to two feet and aimed his front legs down.

Crunch!

Helmet-head attempted to fight back but my two familiars rolled him around like a kickball. When his mana activated my familiars sensed it. Zagreus broke his defenses and Zharia burned away his flesh.

The noble was strong. His resilience proved itself in the brutal beatdown he received .He clearly had a strength passive further fueled by whatever it was inside the pill he taken. It was a power closer to tier two, breezing past the strength of any normal tier one. But...

His eyes flashed and his screams turned primal. Blow after blow, Zagreus' body gave way, shredded into a puddle of red and green.

"Why wont you-" he stabbed his arm through Zagreus's mouth, exploding the stones around his arm into a burst of shrapnel. "Die!"

My familiar lost a head and damaged another, but a tug from my gut pulled mana into his body and regrew the damage. Zagreus leaned down and happily chewed through the exposed hand, injecting the man with more venom.

His next punch landed, but barely strong enough to leave a dent that filled itself. My other familiar torched the exposed pieces of skin and ignited the flammable venom in his veins. Second by second, more blackened skin hit the earth, failing to rise. The prismatic flames seared deep, leaving devastation that didn't wisp away. Boiling, hissing blood attacked like a parasite, finding avenues to infect and siphon, bleeding the man dry while it corrupted what remained.

"Enough. We want him broken; not dead."

The spirits pulled back for very different reasons.

"We should burn him and the rest!" Zharia argued.

"No more fun?" Zagreus whined.

I pulled Zharia in for a hug and forced her to perch on my shoulder. For Zagreus, I rubbed each of the four heads and pushed the thick lug away. "No more fun, you had your turn. Now it's time for another."

Helmet-head coughed and black blood spilled onto the sand. His voice came out as a warbled wheezing. "If you torture me, you'll be removed from the competition."

I crouched and laughed. "They'll remove me for torturing assholes attempting to permanently curse me? But not you? Really?"

He attempted a grin but blood cascaded out of his jaw and he fought for air.

"Zagreus?"

My familiar snapped near his neck, and blood flowed out of Helmet-head's mouth, allowing him to breathe.

"I told y-you. This has been allo-allowed," he wheezed.

I grabbed him by the collar and dragged him closer. "Who allowed it?"

"I'll… Never tell."

I released him and he sputtered, curling into a ball as his body wracked with wet coughs. Looking up, the dome continued unbothered. The mana from the device poured out, feeding the barrier without any signs of stopping.

Below me, during a moment of recovery, the noble laughed. He grinned showing black-stained teeth. "Go on, do it. Kill me, they'll arrest you. Torture me, I'll tell them everything and they'll arrest you. There is… No… Winning."

"Hey, he said the barrier prevented people from seeing inside. They're not reacting at all, but how true is it?"

"I already told you. I'm… Not answering."

I grabbed Helmet-head's jaw and forced it shut. "Not asking you."

"Galarion?" I probed.

The mind squid stirred. "Truthful. Confidant. He tells no lies."

"Good. You mind coming out for a bit?"

"Comfortable. Don't want to."

I raised the noble up and shook him like a bag of treats. "Not even for another feast?"

"Okay!"

Dropping the man, I stood up and stretched. A quick glance to my right showed me Blondie's half-buried form. His lower body was covered in sand, but his chest stayed above the ground. It contracted and deflated, proving he continued to breathe, albeit irregularly.

Beyond him, another form lay on the ground, mostly untouched by the battle but covered in a pool of black tar.

Huh. Forgot about him.

I sent Áine to keep those two in check while I summoned a health potion and uncapped it. Using only half the bottle, I let the weak potion pour directly onto Helmet-head's chest. He looked up in confusion which quickly turned into a sneer.

"Attempting to beg f-for forgiveness now… Won't help y-you."

Good enough.

"Ready, Galarion?"

"Ready!"

Using my tail, I wrapped it around the noble's throat and hauled him up. He squirmed in my gasp but his arms were useless and blackened things–more charcoal then flesh.

I leaned closer and whispered into his ear. "I don't need you to tell me anything. You see, you and everyone of these pride-filled peacocks keep repeating the same mistake."

My claws wrapped around his jaw and titled his face upward. His eyes widened and morphed into terror as ten limbs sprouted from my head. Each one displayed a monstrosity of its own design. Several layers of teeth and bone, and wet eyes wiggled through the air accompanied by a cloud of star-filled glitter.

Roar of the Spirit Lord hadn't only affected my two familiars. Áine sported brighter skin with a longer dress made of rich flowers. I hadn't payed much attention to the battle but the scent of flowers and berries permeated the air.

Beside her, Zharia, and Zagreus, another spirit gained the benefits of my skill. He used it to expand his form and deepen the mind-numbing horror attached to the circular maw of a mouth in the center of his head.

Helmet-head attempted to break free, the orange light in his eyes blazing as his mouth dropped open. A command to Zagreus saw one of his heads bite down around his neck and inject him with a paralytic.

His face froze, unable to look away.

I leaned closer and took off my mask. "You see, the mistake you keep making is simple."

"Uueeggh," he moaned.

I nodded. "That's right. You really need to stop underestimating me."

Galarion's voice thrummed the air, creating ripples of screaming faces inside the cloud around him. "Feast?"

"Feast," I confirmed.

The noble's slurry scream disappeared inside the spinning maw of the eldritch horror.

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